Search form

Search

Mariam Memarsadeghi

Mariam Memarsadeghi is Tavaana's co-founder and co-director. She is an outspoken advocate for democracy, civic learning, internet freedom, and women’s rights internationally. She brings over 15 years of international civil society capacity building experience, including three years of post-conflict work in the Balkan region.

Mariam’s writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and other publications. She is a frequent speaker at universities and think tanks worldwide, is a contributor to NPR and has appeared on PBS NewsHour as well as other English, Persian and Arabic language radio and television news programs.

Mariam previously directed Freedom House's Middle East and North Africa programs and founded the organization’s Iran Program. She has also worked for the International Organization for Migration and the International Rescue Committee. In 2007, the Bertelsmann Foundation and the German Marshall Fund recognized Mariam as a “Trans-Atlantic Young Leader” promoting democracy and human rights internationally. Mariam was born in Tehran and emigrated to the United States shortly after the 1979 Iranian revolution.